Utilization of gold tailings for the construction of foamed ceramics used in external insulation buildings

The utilization of gold tailings and bentonite as raw materials for prepared foamed ceramic was studied. The effects of boric acid and titanium dioxide content on the properties and microstructures of foamed ceramic were studied from the aspects of bulk density, compressive strength, bending strength, phase composition, and micromorphology. These results show that the synergistic effect of boric acid and titanium dioxide leads to the crystallization of quartz, which enhanced the compressive strength and bending strength and decreased the thermal conductivity of foamed ceramics, while the bulk density increases gradually with the addition of titanium dioxide. Taking into account all of these properties, the optimal results are as follows: bending strength of 1.111 MPa, compressive strength of 1.165 MPa, bulk density of 0.258 g/cm3, the porosity of 81.89%, the thermal conductivity of 0.088 (W/(m⋅K)). This study indicated that gold tailings are a promising candidate for the preparation of foamed ceramics used as external insulation building materials.